Sales of Cyprus real estate fall again

Sales of real estate in Cyprus have steadily fallen for the past two years, with the dip forecast to adversely affect state revenues.

Land Registry figures show a total of 461 property purchase contracts were submitted during April 2012, down 15 per cent on April 2011's figure of 542, Cyprus Property News reports.

Sales on the island have been falling steadily over the past 22 months - with the exception of January 2011 - and Andreas Christodoulou, Land Registry director, said the dip will cause state revenues to drop by between 25 and 30 per cent.

Overseas buyers make up roughly a quarter of the Cyprus property market, as the April data shows 119 of the 461 contracts deposited were in favour of foreign purchasers. Domestic demand is hampered by broader economic uncertainty, the news source noted.

An end to the slump is unlikely to occur in the near future and spokesman for Cyprus’ Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Pavlos Loizou was recently quoted by the Cyprus Mail as saying falling property and rental prices will make it difficult to reverse the decline.